Method and apparatus for pointing fur skins, and the like, and resulting products



Jan. 5, 1937. c SQONMAN 2,067,163

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POINTING FUR SKINS,

AND THE LIKE, AND RESULTING PRODUCTS Filed May 11, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l VIII/I4 VIIIIIIIIA': z/IIIIIIII/ VII/III!) A 'IIIIIIIII/ M INVENTOR M S M,

Jan. 5, 1937. c SQNMA 2,067,163

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POINTING FUR SKINS AND THE LIKE, AND RESULTING PRODUCTS 7 Filed May 11, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nulmumululuuumulunmlummymuunuuu INVENTOR Patented Jan. 5, 1937 iJNlTED STATES PATENT QFFHQE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POINTING FUR SKINS, AND THE LIKE, AND RESULT- ING PRODUCTS New York, N. Y.

Application May 11, 1934, Serial N0. 725,095

16 Claims.

My present invention relates to methods for pointing or grafting fur skins with hair of foreign origin, for decorative and ornamental purposes, or for grafting hair upon fabrics, as in wig making or the like, and it has for its object to devise methods of the character described which may be performed by machinery in a Very rapid and economical manner and with very little effort or skill and which will result in a superior uniform product in which the pointed or grafted hair will be lastingly fixed in place.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus or devices for pointing or grafting fur which are of simple construction, which may be attached to an ordinary sewing machine with very little alteration thereof, which are highly effective and certain in their operation and which will produce a pointed or grafted fur skin, or the like, of superior and uniform quality.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved type of pointed or grafted fur skin in which the grafted hair will penetrate to the other side of the skin where it will be fixed in place and in which the grafted or pointed hair will stand up in the same manner as the original hair, resulting in a ful skin of superior and more beautiful appearance and of more durable and lasting quality.

In the methods of pointing fur skins heretofore used, it was customary to point the foreign hair by hand, using, sometimes, mechanical means for blowing the natural hair aside, and gluing the foreign hair to the bases between them. This required an entirely manual operation which was costly, slow and laborious and which yielded a product which did not stand up very well, could not be cleaned or treated for danger that the pointed hair would fall out and which marred the appearance and texture of the natural fur skins because of the matting of the natural hair at the base, by the glue used.

The present invention provides methods and apparatus for pointing or grafting hair on fur skins which will eliminate all the disadvantages of the older methods herein enumerated and which will possess many advantages which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating preferred embodiments of the apparatus of the present invention and of the resulting product,

Fig. l is a view in perspective of the apparatus of the present invention taken from the left front corner of the same as it is attached to a sewing machine showing the top, front end and left side thereof;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the left side of the apparatus, showing the same in operation on a fur skin and also the cooperating members below the work plate of a sewing machine for fixing the pointed hair in position against their withdrawal;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section longitudinally through the shaft 25;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the forward portion of the left front side of the apparatus, showing in detail the belt rotating mechansim of the same;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional View of a pointed fur skin of the present invention showing the appearance of the pointed hair in position; and

Fig. 6 is a view in front elevation of a forked sewing machine needle for use with the apparatus of the present invention;

Referring more specifically to the accompanying drawings the numeral, It, generally, designates an enlarged presser foot, having a large, substantially rectangular floor plate, II, which has a thickened portion, l2, along the forward portion of its right side which forms the point of contact of the presser foot, ID, with the feed dogs, I3, of a sewing machine, which sewing machine it is not thought necessary to be here completely shown. The floor plate, I I, has a side wall, I4, rising substantially perpendicular to it from its left side and a forward curved portion, I5. A needle slot, I6, runs through the floor plate, II, adjacent and parallel with its right edge also cutting through the thickened portion I2.

The presser foot, Ill, may be attached to a sewing machine by means of a bracket arm, I'l, secured to the curved portion, I5, and extending rearwardly and slightly diagonally upwardly, its upper end curving to the right and carrying a block, I8, having a vertical opening, I9, therethrough which opening is adapted to fit over a presser foot rod, 28, to which the block, I8, may be fastened by means of a screw, 2!. The bracket arm, I1, is so constructed that when the block, I8, is mounted upon a presser foot rod, I9, the right front corner of the floor plate, II, with its thickened portion, I2, is in fiat contact with the work plate of the sewing machine. The rest of the floor plate being slightly tilted rear- Wardly and upwardly in all directions.

The left wall, I4, is provided adjacent its forward end with an opening, 22, through which passes a bushing, 23, having a flange, 24, abutill) ting against the outer face of the wall, to steady the bushing and to keep it in place. Within the bushing is journalled a rotatable shaft, 25, on the inner end of which is fixed a cylinder or roller, 26, both the shaft and roller being substantially parallel to the floor plate, H, and perpendicular to the side wall, l4.

Mounted freely over the outer end of the shaft, 25, against the bushing flange, 24, is a collar, 21, having a tongue 28 extending forwardly thereof and carrying by means of a screw or pin, 29, a pawl, 30, which is pivoted on the screw or arm, 29, to the left of the collar, 21, and which extends substantially horizontally rearwardly from its pivot, in a manner and position to'engage the teeth of a ratchet wheel, 3|, which is mounted at the outer extremity of the shaft, 25, along side of the collar, 21, directly underneath the pawl, 38. A contacting spring, 32, one end of which is fixed to the wall, l4, and the other end to the collar tongue, 28, tends to raise the tongue upwardly, and to press the forward end of the pawl, 38, to rest upon the ratchet wheel, 3 l, in engaged relation with its teeth. The forward end of the tongue, 28, extends forward of the curved portion, l5, and supports one end of a lever, 33, which is pivoted on a pin, 34, carried on a bracket, 35, which is fixed to the curved shield, I5, the end of the lever being engaged by the under slung lug, 36, at the end of a tripping arm, 31, which may be carried on the needle rod, 38, of the sewing machine to which the apparatus is attached. Thus as the needle rod is reciprocated when the sewing machine is operated, the lever, 33, is actuated to alternately press and release its left end upon the tongues, 28, pulling the pawl, 30, downwardly and rearwardly upon each upward stroke of the needle rod and turning the ratchet wheel which is engaged by it and releasing the pawl and pushing it rearwardly to engage another ratchet wheel tooth upon every down stroke of the needle rod.

The side wall, I4, is provided at its rear end with a sustantially horizontal slot, 39, through which passes a shaft, 40, in parallel relation to the shaft, 25,and movable within the slot toward and away from the said shaft, 25. The shaft, 40, may be provided with a head, 4|, abutting against the outer face of the wall, 14, to steady it in position and may carry internally of the said wall the bushing, 42, having the flange, 43, abutting against the inside of the wall, I4, to further steady the shaft, 40. The shaft, 45, carries on its inner end a rotatably mounted cylinder or roller, 44, which may be secured to the shaft in any desirable manner. The rollers, 26, and 44, engage a pair of endless belts, 45, placed one Within the other, which are kept taut, preferably by means of a contracting spring, 46, one end of which is secured to the head, 4|, and the other end anchored to the tongue, 41, extending rearwardly from the wall, I4. The belts, 45, are kept sufficiently taut by the spring, 46, to hold securely but readily removable, between them a plurality of hair, 48, which are to be pointed, arranged transversely to the belts, their stub ends in alignment and projecting to the right of the belts and over and slightly beyond the slot, IS.

The apparatus of the present invention is attached by means of the block, l8, to the presser foot rod, 20, of an ordinary type sewing machine, the bracket, 1, being so curved and shaped that the slot, I6, fits over the needle passage,

49, in the work plate, 50, and the floor plate, I I, is tilted diagonally upwardly to the rear and to the left. The needle rod 38, of the sewing machine to which the apparatus is attached may be provided with a setoif portion, 5|, set off to the right to permit the free and unobstructed passage of the hair between the upper sections of the belt. The setoff portion may have its lower portion hinged at any suitable point as at, 52, by means of a screw, 53, which may be used to tighten the hinged portion in fixed position, to facilitate the insertion of the needle, 54, without undue difficulty. The needle, 54, is provided with a forked end, 55, and may be set in the needle rod, in the usual manner, with the space between the prongs facing the belts, 45, so that the forked needle end will engage hair ends as it reciprocates past them during the operation of the machine.

After the device is attached as described a fur skin, or other fabric, 56, which is to be pointed, is placed under the floor plate, I I, the part to be pointed adjusted under the slot, is, and the device lowered by the usual presser foot lever not thought necessary to be here shown. As the machine is then operated, the needle, 54, on its downstroke engages one or more of the hairs, 48, by the projecting stubs pulling such hair out from between the belts, 45, and as the needle penetrates or pierces the skin or fabric, 56, it pushes the stub end of the hair through the opening in the skin or fabric formed by the needle, usually in doubled up state, usually forming a loop, 51, which protrudes from the underside of the skin or fabric, remaining in that position when the needle is withdrawn on the upward stroke.

On the upward stroke of the needle, 56, the tripping arm, 31, which is carried from the needle rod, 38, tilts the right end of the lever, 33, up-

, wardly, pressing its left end down upon the collar arm, 28, causing the pawl, 30, to turn the ratchet wheel, 3|, and the cylinder, 26, moving the belts, 45, and bringing new hair under the needle for its next downward stroke. Thus hair would be pointed or grafted on each downward stroke of the needle and thereby pointed in straight rows at substantially regular distances apart. Occasionally more than one hair will be grafted at one point, giving an appearance of variety to the pointed product.

To insure against the removal of any pointed hair during the pointing operation the feed dog mechanism of the machine which moves them upwardly and rearwardly to advance the work may be modified to raise a pin, 58, carrying pivoted thereon a lever, 59, and pressing its widened tongue, 60, at one end against the underside of the work plate, 50, and raising an auxiliary feed dog, 6|, pivoted at the other end of the lever, 59, against the underside of the work plate, directly below the needle opening, as the needle is withdrawn, pressing the hair loop, 51, of the hair last pointed sideways, thus preventing the hair from falling out.

When the entire work is pointed the hair may be further and permanently secured in place by applying one or more coats of paste or glue or other adhesive preferably of a water proof type to the underside of the work and over the protruding hair loops, 51, or in any other manner that may readily suggest itself to those skilled in the art.

t is apparent that as no sewing operation is involved in the pointing process, it is not essential that the device of the present invention be used with a sewing machine only and that any apparatus having the equivalent of a presser foot rod, needle rod and feed dog mechanism will serve the purpose of this invention, a sewing machine being suggested merely for convenience and economical expediency.

It may here be stated that where close grafting of hair is desired, a plurality of forked needles may be provided in the sewing machine, in a row, to reciprocate simultaneously or intermittently, as may be desired.

It may here also be stated that wherever the word. fabric appears in the appended claims, it is intended to include, fur skins or fibrous or any other type of material, the device and methods of operation being equally effective on them.

This completes the description of the methods, product and the construction of the device of the present invention, to which I do not wish to be limited, as many variations in construction herein described may be made, without the use of the inventive faculties and within the spirit and scope of the claims hereto appended.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In fur pointing apparatus, the combination with a mechanism of the sewing machine type, of a needle having a forked end mounted in the sewing machine, and a hair carrying device, comprising an enlarged foot member adapted to rest on the work table of the machine, means to fix said foot member unto the presser foot rod of the sewing machine, a slot in the said foot member adapted to fit over the needle opening in the work plate of the sewing machine when the foot member is fixed to the presser foot rod, means for carrying an endless belt alongside the said slot mounted over the said foot member, a pair of endless belts, one positioned within the other, carried on the said belt carrying means, and means to move the said belts.

2. In pointing apparatus, the combination with a mechanism of the sewing machine type, of a forked needle mounted therein and a hair carrying device comprising an enlarged foot member, means to fix the said foot member on the presser foot rod of the sewing machine, a slot in the said foot adapted to fit over the needle opening in the machine work plate when the said foot is in position, means for carrying endless belts parallel to the foot and to the slot mounted over the said foot, a pair of endless belts, one within the other, mounted over the belt carrying means, and means to rotate the said belt carrying means to move the belts mounted thereon.

3. In pointing apparatus, the combination with a mechanism of the sewing machine type, of a forked needle mounted therein and a hair carrying device comprising an enlarged foot member, means to fix the said foot member on the presser foo-t rod of the sewing machine, a slot in the said foot adapted to fit over the needle opening in the machine work plate when the said foot is in position, means for carrying an endless belt parallel to the foot and to the slot mounted over the said foot, a pair of endless belts, one within the other, mounted over the belt carrying means, and means, actuated by the needle rod of the sewing machine, to rotate the said belt carrying means.

4. In pointing apparatus, the combination with a mechanism of the sewing machine type, of a U-shaped needle rod, a forked needle mounted in the said needle rod and a hair carrying device comprising an enlarged foot member, means to fix the said foot member on the presser foot rod of the sewing machine, a slot in the said foot adapted to fit over the needle opening in the machine work plate when the said foot is in position, means for carrying endless belts parallel to the foot and to the slot mounted over the said foot, a pair of endless belts, one within the other, mounted over the belt carrying means, and means to rotate the said belt carrying means to move the belts mounted thereon.

5. In pointing apparatus, the combination with a mechanism of the sewing machine type, of a U-shaped needle rod, a forked needle mounted in the said needle rod and a hair carrying device comprising an enlarged foot member, means to fix the said foot member on the presser foot rod of the sewing machine, a slot in the said foot adapted to fit over the needle opening in the machine work plate when the said foot is in position, means for carrying an endless belt parallel to the foot and to the slot mounted over the said foot, a pair of endless belts, one within the other, mounted over the belt carrying means, and means, actuated by the needle rod of the sewing machine, to rotate the said belt carrying means.

6. The method of pointing a fabric which comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of hair in alignment, substantially parallel to the fabric, reciprocating a forked needle past the hair ends through the fabric and moving the hair and fabric simultaneously with respect to the said reciprocating forked needle.

'7. The method of pointing a fabric which comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of hair, with their stub ends in alignment, substantially parallel to one another and to the fabric, reciprocating a forked needle past the hair ends and through the fabric and moving the hair and fabric simultaneously with respect to the said reciprocating needle.

8. The method of pointing a fabric which comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of hair, with their stub ends in alignment, substantially parallel to one another and to the fabric, reciprocating a forked needle with the space between its prongs perpendicular to the hair ends through the stub ends of the hair and moving the hair and the fabric simultaneously with respect to the said reciprocating forked needle.

9. The method of pointing a fabric which comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of hair in alignment, substantially parallel to the fabric, reciprocating a forked needle past the hair ends through the fabric, moving the hair and fabric simultaneously with respect to the said reciprocating forked needle, and securing the ends of the hair projecting through the fabric to the underside thereof.

10. The method of pointing a fabric which comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of hair in alignment, substantially parallel to the fabric, reciprocating a forked needle past the hair ends through the fabric, moving the hair and fabric simultaneously with respect to the said reciprocating forked needle, and applying an adhesive coating to the underside of the fabric over the projecting hair ends.

11. The method of pointing a fabric which comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of hair, with their stub ends in alignment, substantially parallel to one another and to the fabric, reciproeating a forked needle past the hair ends and through the fabric, moving the hair and fabric simultaneously with respect to the said reciprocating needle, and applying an adhesive coating to the underside of the fabric over the projecting hair ends.

12. fhe method of pointing a fabric which comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of hair, with their stub ends in alignment, substantially parallel to one another and to the fabric, reciprocating a forked needle with the space between its prongs perpendicular to the hair ends through the stub ends of the hair and moving the hair and the fabric simultaneously with respect to the said reciprocating forked needle and applying an adhesive coating to the underside of the fabric over the projecting hair ends.

13. The method of pointing a hair into a fabric Which comprises the steps of positioning the hair substantially parallel tothe fabric, engaging the hair adjacent one of its ends in the forked end of a forked needle, passing the needle end and the hair engaged by it through the fabric, withdrawing the needle from the fabric, leaving the hair in the opening, its end projecting from the underside of the fabric.

14. As an article of manufacture, a fur skin having va plurality of pierced openings in the skin, and the looped ends of one or more hairs inserted into the said pierced openings, the loops projecting from the underside of the skin.

15. As an article of manufacture, a fur skin having a plurality of pierced openings in the skin and the looped ends of one or more hairs inserted into the said pierced openings, the loops projecting from the underside of the skin and secured thereto by an adhesive coating.

16. In combination with pointing apparatus as described, of an opening in the Work plate in advance of the needle opening and an auxiliary pivoted feed dog operated by the feed dog mechanism of the apparatus and adapted to press against the underside of the pointed fabric as the needle is withdrawn therefrom, to press the projecting ends of the'inserted hair against the fabric, to prevent its Withdrawal.

CARL SONMAN. 

